Welcome to Neural & Behavioral Sciences Department

Welcome to the Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences of the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. The department was created in 2006 by the amalgamation of the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy with the Department of Behavioral Sciences. As the inaugural chair of this new department it has been my privilege to watch this broad group of faculty interests meld into a single dynamic department. We now have the single mission to promote excellence in the study of the nervous system from a wide variety of perspectives.

The nervous system is the organ of sensation and response that that regulates and integrates all our bodily functions and behaviors, and studies of its structure and function are among the most exciting areas of biology today. The dramatic growth in techniques and knowledge in the areas of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics combined with increasingly sophisticated electrophysiological and behavioral methods are giving unprecedented opportunities to discover how the nervous system works and how it communicates with the rest of the body as well as with the outside world. As we continue to expand the department we are hiring new faculty who can take advantage of these new approaches and opportunities.

The Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences serves as the home for two active graduate programs. The Anatomy Graduate Program accepts both doctoral and masters level students and produces well trained scientists who have also received a thorough training in anatomy and histology and are well-qualified to teach these disciplines. The Neuroscience Graduate Program is based in the Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences and admits students for doctoral studies with any neuroscience faculty member throughout the College of Medicine. We also interact closely with the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, an umbrella program for many graduate students at Hershey.

Please explore this web site to become acquainted with the Department. If you have questions about the department or would like additional information please do not hesitate to contact me.